I Love You, I'll Kill You

I remembered the way to the werewolves' house pretty well, even though it was dark before. The forest was thick, full of moss and growth all along the ground so that it looked like everything was green. The sun was shining through the thick trees, creating sun beams in long, shadowy lines. It was just on the edge of being cold, but the morning mist and chill was slowly fading. I hugged myself, shivering, but not because I was cold. Aftershock was taking its effect on me, and although I wanted to deny it, I was just on the verge of crying. I was so confused, still lost as to why Desmond had acted so strangely.

I shook my head, closing my eyes as just the thought of his name made me think of his kiss, the way his lips were so soft, moving and connecting so innocently to mine. Everything was so perfect that moment, and he had to go and ruin it. The way he looked when he pulled away looked so frightened, so full of worry. Was it me that was so frightening, or was it a thought that had struck him? I didn't know, and I wouldn't until he came out of that bathroom. But I wasn't about to wait around for him to come out, not while Dawn and Ivan were looking so perfect and happy together.

I looked up when I sensed something in front of me, and a smile slowly grew on my face. The two story house was standing in all its glory, surrounded by trees with the sun shining on it, illuminating the growing moss on its roof. I quickened my pace, wanting to see the smiling faces of my new friends. I stopped before I took the first step on the stairs to see a few cars parked in the front. I hadn't noticed the driveway before, strangely. I shoved aside the idea of going to look at the cars and decided to continue up the steps.

I walked up the five steps and knocked on the door. It took a minute before I finally heard some movement in the house. It sounded like someone was falling down the stairs. I held my breath while someone unlocked the chains on the door. The door opened to reveal a very tired Shayne. His eyes were droopy, just barely open. His hair was sticking out in many directions, proving that he had been sleeping. Oh, and the fact that he was nude except for the red and black silky boxers. His eyes went wide as soon as he noticed it was me. Mine were probably just as wide, and I had a feeling my face was red.

"Grace?" he said in a completely shocked voice.

I turned my attention to the ground, trying not to be distracted by his lack of clothes. I replied with a low, "Yeah, hey." I was too embarrassed to say more.

He opened the door wider. "What are you doing here? I thought I just saw you a few hours ago. Is everything alright?" he asked.

I looked up from the ground with my head still pointing down. "Yeah, everything's fine. I just needed to see a friendly face."

He smiled softly. "Would you like to come in?" he asked.

I returned the smile with my own smirk. "I didn't walk all the way out here for nothing," I said.

He laughed. "I suppose not. I'm just surprised you're on my porch at 7 in the morning. I've only been asleep maybe three hours."

My smile faded. I turned, feeling embarrassed. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to wake you. I can come back another time." I turned to leave. His hand caught my upper arm before I could take a step.

"No, don't leave," he said quickly, almost panicked. He released my arm when I looked back at him. "I mean, I don't mind that you woke me up. Besides, you look like you could use some food. Would you like some breakfast? I could make pancakes," he offered, ending with a smile.

I smiled back, nodding my head. "Pancakes sound nice," I said, taking a step into the warm house. I shivered as my body reacted to the sudden warmth. Shayne closed the door after I walked into the house, making my way to the kitchen. Food sounded really nice. Shayne followed me into the large kitchen, practically stepping on my heels the whole time. He grabbed a pair of sweatpants that were lying on the couch and slipped them on. I sat on the high stool and rested my chin on my hands with my elbows popped up while I watched him move around the kitchen, grabbing random utensils and ingredients quicker than needed. He kept dropping things, and then cursing. I chuckled, and that stopped him for a second. He looked up from his spot on the ground, grasping the bowl he had dropped.

He smiled with me. "What?" he asked, completely oblivious to how funny he was acting.

"Slow down. You keep dropping things because you're in such a rush. Don't get me wrong—it's funny to watch. But I'm not starving. Here, let me help you. Tell me what I can do to help out," I said, sliding off of the tall stool.

"But, uh-"

"No 'buts'! Let me lend a hand. Besides, I need to learn how to cook again, right?" I asked, grabbing an egg and cracking it in the bowl.

He smiled and stood up. "Heh, yeah, sure," he said.

I glanced around to scan over the ingredients he had pulled out and set on the counter. "So, I know we're using all of these things, but what comes first?" I asked sheepishly.

"Seriously, all you have to really do is measure and mix them all together," he said, adding a few cups of flour in the large bowl.

I laughed. "Seriously?"

His smiled was plastered on his face, and it didn't look like it was about to fade any time soon. I liked that about Shayne. "Seriously, it's really not that hard."

I scoffed. "Easy for you to say. I didn't know guys like you cooked," I said quietly, not wanting to offend him while I added some butter into the large bowl.

He shrugged beside me. "Werewolves need to eat a lot, and not just junk food, but decent meals multiple times a day. We have really high metabolisms. That's why we look in such good shape."

"Yeah, you're telling me," I mumbled to myself, not expecting him to hear.

"So you're admitting we're good looking," he teased, giving my side a nudge with his elbow. It nearly made me drop the vegetable oil I was about to put in the bowl.

I casted him a look that said you know the answer to that question. "You know you're good looking. I'm sure tons of women go all googily-eyed whenever you're around them. I'm a female, attracted to the opposite sex, so why would I be any different?" I felt a bit of heat float to my cheeks. God, I hoped I wasn't as red as I thought I was. I didn't take my eyes off the bowl as I added some salt. I could feel his gaze on me, feeling like a great weight that would pierce through me. And the scary thing is that I liked it, liked the way he stared at me.

"Wow, that's a pretty honest answer," he murmured, grabbing the bowl to stir it all together.

I turned around to lean my back against the counter, resting my hands next to me while I stared at the ground. I replied in low voice, "I don't like to lie."

He stopped beating the ingredients together about then, like I had just slapped him. I looked up, and he was staring at me, his face blank. I quickly returned to staring at the ground, feeling heat return to my face again within moments. He scooted past me to get to the burner, which was warming up and melting the bit of butter in the pan. He took a large spoon about 3 tablespoons worth and poured it on the pan. I walked back over to the stool and sat down, sitting my elbows on the counter and resting my chin on my hands once more while I watched his backside as he made the pancakes.

About that time, a stomping noise came from the stairs in the other room. Eric, the blonde, was rubbing the sleep from his eyes, practically tripping over himself as he made his way to the kitchen. I felt my face go hot as he too had no shirt on, but a long pair of sleeping shorts. He yawned as he spoke, "Mmmm, what's cooking?"

I smiled while trying not to look nervous and said, "Pancakes."

He returned the smile with a tired one of his own. "What a pleasant surprise. I see Shayne decided to kidnap you from the vampire again."

Shayne dropped the spoon, which was full of batter, and turned abruptly. "I did not! She came here all on her own freewill!" he sputtered.

Eric gave him a look, raising one eyebrow at the suddenly nervous Shayne, but it wasn't a look of convincing. "Suuuure, whatever you say, buddy." Shayne glared at him, but turned back to making the pancakes while mumbling incoherent things under his breath. Eric laughed as he took a spot in the stool beside me. “I was just kidding, pup.” More noises came from the stairs, but a lot more feet this time.

"I smell something good," Joshua, the jokester of the pack, said as he appeared in the kitchen, his identical twin brother, Derek, just behind him. They, too, had no shirts on. What was it with these guys and walking around half-naked?!

"Shayne's the best cook in the house," Craig, the gray eyed beauty, commented from the other entrance to the kitchen, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, making his muscles even bigger. Nice.

"I hope it's almost done. I'm starved!" Dean, the curly haired splendor shouted from the other room. He and Matt, the auburn haired werewolf, sat in the other room and turned on the TV. Joshua and Derek left the kitchen to join them on the large couch in the living room. Craig's stomach made a loud grumbling sound, and he sighed, turning away from the aroma of the food to walk to the other room and join the rest of the pack.

I counted them all and found one missing. "Where's Troy?" I really didn't care for Troy. He obviously didn't like me, but it was common courtesy to ask why a member of the pack was missing. Shayne didn't turn his front side away from the burner as he cooked, but I saw his back muscles tense. It made me blush, my mouth just barely dropping open.

Eric cleared his throat a little too loudly. That knocked me out my trance. "Troy is at the hospital," he said, and for the first time since I had met him his voice sounded sad.

I turned my attention to him. "The hospital? Why?" I asked quickly.

He turned his gaze to the counter, the sad look still on his face. "His girlfriend is in a coma."

I gasped and said, "Oh, no..." I was literally speechless. What was I to say to that? I'm sorry; I wish he was here so I could give him a hug?

"Yeah, he's pretty bummed about it. Lately he's been more violent than usual. But I can understand why he's so upset. It's not easy losing someone you love."

I frowned down at the counter, thinking about the glare Troy had given me the other night. He looked so upset when he saw Shayne holding me. Maybe that was why he was so hostile toward me. Maybe he was seeing what he used to have with his girlfriend, when she wasn't in a coma.

Shayne placed a large plate of pancakes that were stacked high on the counter. "Food's ready," he said, his eyes pointed to the ground. I frowned even harder from the sad look on his face. He looked as if his dog had just been run over. He turned without saying a word, exiting out of the kitchen as the others made their way to get some food.

"Aren't you going to grab some food before they devour the entire plate?" Eric asked, grabbing a plate and at least five pancakes. He snatched the syrup that was sitting on the counter next to the pancakes. The kitchen was suddenly crammed with large guys, all fighting to get to the pancakes first.

I shook my head as I hopped off the stool. "Maybe later," I murmured, and followed out the exit Shayne had gone. I didn't see him in the living room, so I continued my way up the stairs. When I got to the hall, I walked all the way down until got to his door on the right. The door was closed, so I hesitated for a moment before I knocked on the door, very softly.

A soft voice murmured, "Come in," and I opened the door. Shayne was sitting on the side of his large bed, which took up most of the room. He looked up at me, and then let his eyes return back to the floor without muttering a word. I walked over to him and sat down next to him on the bed. "What's up?" I asked.

His eyes didn't move from the ground as he spoke. "It's Troy," he began.

"Oh?"

"He doesn't like you.”

I sighed. "I figured as much. I don't know why." I really didn't know. There were so many ideas as to why Troy hated me.

"Sure you do," he said, glancing at me from his peripherals. "You hang out with that leech." He had said it with distaste, and I thought I saw him cringe when he said 'leech' like it was foulest thing in the world.

"You mean Desmond?"

He flinched when I said his name. "Yeah, that. Troy thinks that you're a spy or something, and that you're going to find some way to stab us in the back."

I sighed, but gave him warm eyes. "Shayne, you know I wouldn't do that. You're very...different, and I like that about you. And plus, I don't deceive my friends. I've decided it's a rule in my book from now on."

He smiled, and that smile sent shivers down my spine, ones that I got whenever Desmond was around. This smile was more innocent than Desmond's, but it was almost as beautiful...almost. "How many rules do you have in this 'book' of yours?"

I shrugged my shoulders with a smile on my face, leaning back so that my arms popped me up. "I don't know, but I can have as many as I want. But I can't break them, and if I do, I'm cursed."

He chuckled, sitting a little straighter. "Oh, we don't want you to be cursed." He paused for a moment, glancing down my leg that was outstretched. The wrap around my ankle was beginning to unravel, but I paid no mind to it. My ankle still hurt like a whale had fallen on it, but I hated to whine. I detested it from others, so why would I be a hypocrite? "How's your ankle?" he finally asked.

"It still hurts, but I'm surviving," I said, refusing to look at my ankle. It was swollen, and truthfully, it didn't look pretty. I think I would have preferred to just have a cast to hide all the bruising that had appeared overnight.

He stood up from his spot on the bed and carefully stepped over me. "I think it's time for a new bandage. What did you do to it? It looks like you trudged it through a swamp," he commented, taking off my shoe very carefully. He was almost as bad as Desmond. He began to unwrap it while I watched him be as careful as I had ever seen him.

"The woods are a very muddy place. I think the fact that it is always moist and smoggy plays a large role."

"I think you're right," he agreed with a smirk. He finished removing the wrap, revealing the nasty looking ankle.

I cringed. "That really doesn't look good," I said through a mumble. I turned my eyes to my lap, having one heck of a time trying not to be grossed out by my own ankle. I gasped when I felt warm fingers trail gently across the top of my cold foot.

"Does that hurt?" he asked in a low voice, almost a whisper.

I shook my head, having trouble finding words as his fingers continued to trace my swollen ankle. It felt amazing. I gulped loudly, trying to discover my voice. My voice came out in a whisper as I replied, "No, a bit of the opposite." Okay, that was an understatement. It was a lot more than just a bit of the opposite.

"Your feet are so cold," he whispered, tracing the bone on my ankle. His hand moved to my Achilles heel, and that's when I gasped in pain. His hand shot back like I had shocked him. "Did that hurt?"

I nodded my head with my eyes close. "I think that's where I tore the ligament," I said in a strained voice.

"I don't think you would be walking if it was the Achilles tendon, or if you tore a ligament completely. Does it hurt more here?" He put a little pressure right behind my ankle bone.

I gasped again, this time holding in a scream. "Yeah, that's it," I said quickly, breathing quickly to reduce the pain.

"I thought so. It's your Peroneus Longus," he observed, sitting my foot carefully on the ground and standing to his feet.

"Look who's the smart one," I mocked, but the pain in my voice hid the humor.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to get some equipment to treat it. We need to elevate it and get some ice on it." He was gone from sight after that. How was it that my ankle all of a sudden started hurting? It wasn't hurting that much when I was walking through the woods. Sure, it hurt, but not like this.

Eric appeared in the doorway with a plate in his hand. "I saved you some pancakes." He then noticed my ankle, all black and blue. He gave a wincing look with a mix of revulsion. "That looks horrible," he commented, sitting the plate of pancakes down on the dresser nearest to the door.

"Thanks a lot," I muttered, still trying to conceal the pain in my voice.

He smiled at me from the doorway. "Don't worry; Shayne will take care of you."

And right on cue, he walked in, pushing Eric out of the way. "Here we are; all the wraps and support for a hurt ankle," he said, kneeling next to my ankle.

"I'll put the pancakes downstairs for you. They'll be waiting for you in the refrigerator," Eric said, seizing the plate once more.

"Thanks, Eric," I said through a gasp as Shayne lifted my ankle and told me to put it on the bed so that it was elevated.

"No problem," he said, and then he was gone.

I leaned back on my elbows as Shayne sat on the bed, next to my ankle. He lifted it so that it was resting on his lap, and it didn't hurt as much this time. He took a warm washcloth and cleaned the dirt away from my skin. I couldn't tell the dirt from the bruises—that's how bad it was. He was very careful as not to put me in any more pain. It took him less than two minutes to finish cleaning my foot, put on some solonpas patches, which strongly smelled of mint, and top it off with a new wrap.

He set my foot back on the bed with a smile of approval on his face. "There, all done."

"Those solonpas patches make my skin tingle." It was a strange sensation. It felt like my ankle was beginning to go numb, which I think was the point.

"Would you like breakfast now?" he asked, that innocent smile of his perfect.

I returned the smile. "Sure."

He walked over to my side and slipped his arms under my body and lifted me into his warm arms. He had finally put on a shirt, but even through his shirt I felt his warm skin that was hotter than any normal human. I rested my hands in my lap as he carried me out of the room, down the hall, down the stairs, and to the living room where all of the others were. They all had put on some clothes.

"Okay, everyone move so that Grace can rest her ankle," Shayne demanded. I opened my mouth to tell him it was okay if they just scooted down the couch, but like obedient wolves, they moved to the floor. He set me on the couch so that I was lying down with my head resting on the arm of the couch.

"You guys really didn't have to move for me. Besides, there's still a lot of room for some of you to sit on the couch," I said, glancing to the TV to see that they were watching The Discovery Channel. It was about predators vs. prey. Go figure. They glanced up to Shayne, as if asking for permission, and he nodded his head. My jaw just about dropped. Werewolves were so weird.

Eric moved up to sit at the end of my feet. Matt moved to sit next to him, and Craig joined him. Dean, Joshua, and Derek remained sitting on the floor. Shayne had disappeared into the kitchen to fetch my pancakes, as well as his. He came back moments later with two plates of pancakes. "Care for breakfast?" he asked.

I popped up so that he could sit down, but my lower body was still on the couch. "Thank you," I said, taking the pancakes from him. He sat behind me, and I rested my back against him. It was strange watching animals tracking prey while I ate. Well, there's a first time for everything.

Matt sat up and turned to us on the couch. "Hey, we should take Grace to the coast." Wow, that was random, and especially for Matt since he was supposed to be the guarded one of the pack.

Joshua and Eric shouted at the same time, "Yeah!"

Shayne glanced down at me beside him, and I had to look up to really see his face. "Are you up for it?"

I was suddenly very nervous. What would Desmond think? He would probably get pretty angry if I left without explaining where I was going. But I really didn't want to go ask him either, especially after what had happened this morning. "I don't know. I'm not sure..." I didn't want to say that I had to ask permission, because then it would sound like Desmond owned me.

"Come on, it'll be fun,” Eric said with a pouting face.

"Yeah, and then we could have a bonfire on the beach—one that is huge," Dean suggested, suddenly looking just as eager as the rest, except Derek. He just looked like he really didn't care either way, but I could see a small smile beginning to form on his lips.

"I don't know you guys."

"Come on; ditch the bloodsucker for one night!" Joshua shouted even though he was just feet away from me.

"I-I guess I could sneak away for just one night. But I better be back before it's too late, or I'll be in big trouble," I finally caved in.

Shayne put his arm around my shoulder. Again, I felt heat rush to my face. "Don't worry; you'll be safe with us. I won't let anything bad happen to you." I looked to see that his pancakes had magically disappeared from his plate. Wow, that was fast.

Derek sat up and brought one leg up to rest his arms on it. "What about Troy?" Oh, that was certainly another problem to consider.

Shayne shrugged, and it made my body move down further. "If Troy comes home before we return, we'll just tell him the truth. We haven't been out of the house for a while, and we need a break from scouting forest."

Why were they scouting the forest? I would ask later. For now, I had to worry about Desmond and how to deal with him when he found out about this trip with the werewolf pack. I knew one thing; this would end badly either way.